Senate Dems: We've Already Compromised By Keeping Sequestration

Senate Democrats dismissed calls from House Republicans to compromise on Obamacare as part of the government spending bill, saying that Democrats had already compromised by agreeing to maintain sequestration.

"It's the numbers they want," Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) told reporters Monday. "We are taking their numbers. We're not happy about that. We're willing to compromise and take their numbers."

"What we will send back is already a compromise," Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said moments later. "It continues cuts in every part of the budget that frankly we want to fix and replace to be able to restore critical investments, but we are willing to compromise."

Boxer reiterated that the Senate would reject the anti-Obamacare provisions attached to the bill passed Saturday by the House. The Senate vote is expected Monday afternoon with hours to go until the federal government shuts down.

The current bill temporarily funds the government at $986.3 billion, the levels set by sequestration, as TPM has reported. The House version sets funding until Dec. 15; the Senate version sets funding until Nov. 15.